Tag Archives: handbell duet

Praise God, Ye Servants of the Lord – Handbells and Piano

Praise God, Ye Servants of the Lord (hymn tune ANDRE) is a 19th century hymn written by William B. Bradbury. The tune is also used for the hymns When Israel Fled from Egypt Land and Heavenly Home. It’s an upbeat, quirky little tune, and here’s our arrangement for 8 handbells with piano accompaniment:

We demonstrate this piece as a 4-in-hand duet, but it’s suitable for 2-4 ringers to play, and quite straightforward. It could be a useful addition to your handbell choir’s summer repertoire, for those times when the full group isn’t available to get together!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play Praise God, Ye Servants of the Lord, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately. This can be useful if you don’t have an accompanist, or you need to rehearse alone.

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

Praise God Ye Servants of the Lord

O Zion, Haste – Handbells and Piano Accompaniment

O Zion, Haste is our latest 8-bell hymn arrangement, for handbells and piano. The tune, TIDINGS, was written by English composer James Walch in 1876. The words to the hymn were written by Mary A. Thomson:

“O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling,
To tell to all the world that God is light.
That he who made all nations is not willing
One soul should perish, lost in shades of night.
Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace;
Tidings of Jesus, redemption and release.“

Here’s our arrangement for 8 handbells with piano accompaniment:

More information about O Zion, Haste

O Zion, Haste is for 8 handbells between G5 and G6. We demonstrate this arrangement as a 4-in-hand duet, but it’s suitable for 2-4 ringers to play. There’s no bell-sharing, and no need for tables or foam, which makes it suitable for a socially-distant ensemble if necessary.

The sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately. This can be useful to use as a backing track if you need to rehearse or perform without an accompanist.

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

O Zion Haste handbells

In the Sweet By and By – Handbells and Piano

In the Sweet By and By is a beautiful hymn, written in 1868 by S. Fillmore Bennett, with music by Joseph P. Webster. In recent years it has been recorded by many popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong and Dolly Parton.

“There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar,
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.

In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.“

Here’s our arrangement for 8 handbells with piano accompaniment:

This piece involves no bell changes, no picking-up of accidentals mid-piece, and no shared bells. It can easily be played without a table or foam. 8-bell music can be very useful during the summer months, when full handbell choirs can’t always get together. We demonstrate this piece as a 4-in-hand duet, but it’s suitable for 2-4 ringers to play.

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play In the Sweet By and By, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately. This can be useful if you don’t have an accompanist, or you need to rehearse alone.

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

Sweet By and By handbells

Count Your Blessings – for 8 Handbells and Piano

It’s been a while since we published any new accompanied 8-bell music – so here’s a lively arrangement of Count Your Blessings, for handbells and piano. This piece could work well for a Mother’s Day or spring worship service!

“When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.“

As with all our 8-bell arrangements, this piece involves no bell changes, no picking-up of accidentals mid-piece, and no shared bells. You won’t even need tables or foam!

Would you like to play this arrangement?

If you’d like to play Count Your Blessings, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus, our music site. An mp3 accompaniment track is also available to purchase separately; useful if you don’t have a willing accompanist, or if you want to rehearse at home without the rest of your ensemble.

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!

Count Your Blessings - handbells

I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art – for 8 Handbells

“I greet Thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
My only trust and Savior of my heart,
Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray Thee from our hearts all cares to take.”

It’s been a while since we published any new 8-bell music! We have several new arrangements that will be available from Choraegus soon… but first, here’s one that we’ve had for a while. It’s a hymn that dates from the 16th century, with the tune TOULON. Our video is another that we recorded early last year, when Larry was waiting to have shoulder surgery.

As with our other 8-bell pieces, this arrangement has no bell-sharing, no picking-up of accidentals during the piece, and no need for tables. We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand duet, but there are no special techniques written into the score, so it could also be suitable for a trio or quartet to play.

How to purchase the sheet music

If you’d like to play I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print up to four copies for your handbell group – so you only need to pay once. Your purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials.

Please also note that our music is designed as downloadable PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If someone has asked us a question even once, it will be there. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help.

I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art - handbells

Twinkle Samba, and FREE 8-Bell music!

We’ve pulled a couple of handbell duet videos out of the archives this week! After a performance some time ago (remember that long-ago time when we used to give regular handbell performances?) an audience member jokingly asked us if we ever played anything “really difficult… like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” At the time, we didn’t have an 8-bell arrangement of that piece… so Twinkle Samba was born. It’s a fun challenge to play, and requires a bit of concentration to keep the rhythm going, and still play the melody!

This video was recorded in the spring of 2020. A lot has happened since then, including Larry’s shoulder surgery and (ongoing) cancer treatment, and the global pandemic that put a stop to most of our handbell duet performances. Until very recently, we forgot that we’d ever recorded this video, so it’s definitely time to make this piece available to anyone else who wants to play it!

Where to find the Twinkle Samba sheet music

If you’d like to play Twinkle Samba, the sheet music is available from Choraegus. Please remember that when you purchase music from Choraegus, the score will come to you as a PDF file for you to download and print yourself. You won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing this 8-bell arrangement will entitle you to print up to 4 copies for your handbell group. Purchase also gives no-fuss permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and online video-sharing. If this is your first time buying music from Choraegus, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to take you through the process in a stress-free way!

But what about the FREE handbell music?

There’s also a free version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, available to download from the Freebies section of our music site. You’ll also find free music for several other children’s songs, and a hymn – and there will be more free music coming soon. There are also printable covers for anyone who’s storing their 8-bell music in binders.

Here’s a demonstration video Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It’s a lot more straightforward than Twinkle Samba!

To get your free sheet music, add Twinkle, Twinkle to your cart on the Choraegus site, and click on the yellow “Check out with PayPal” button (don’t worry; PayPal won’t ask you to make any payment). Enter your details, and click “Confirm Order” (there’s no need to click on the PayPal button a second time). Then check your email inbox! If the download link doesn’t arrive, check your spam folder, and it might be there. If anything goes wrong, please let us know, and we’ll find another way to get your music to you.

There’s no obligation to make any other purchase from Choraegus to get the free handbell music. Of course, we hope you’ll take a look at the other titles we have to offer, but if you’d rather just grab the free music and go, we don’t mind at all. It’s a good way to try our 8-bell music without having to spend any money, or to test the process of downloading our music if you haven’t tried it before. 8-bell music is a great way for a duo, trio or quartet to play music with no bell changes; completely suitable for social distancing!

Any questions?

If you have any questions about buying or playing Choraegus handbell music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions, in case the answer is there. If you don’t find the information you seek, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

free 8-bell music
Our handbell music in binders at an 8-bell music class in Omaha, Nebraska – 2018

Sandmännchen – New 8-Bell Music from Choraegus

Sandmännchen, also known as Die Blümelein sie schlafen, was written by Johannes Brahms. Its title translates as The Little Sandman.

Our demonstration video is another one that we recorded early last year. Larry was due to have his shoulder surgery, so we spent some time recording as many of our new 8-bell pieces as we could. This was one of the last recordings we made before Larry’s arm went into a sling and he started writing music for just 6 bells!

This arrangement has no bell-sharing, no picking-up of accidentals during the piece, and no need for tables. We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand duet, but there are no special techniques written into the score, so it could also be suitable for a trio or quartet to play.

How to purchase the sheet music

If you’d like to play Sandmännchen, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print up to four copies for your handbell group – so you only need to pay once. Your purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials.

Please also note that our music is designed as downloadable PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If someone has asked us a question even once, it will be there. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help.

Sandmännchen - handbells

This Joyful Eastertide – New 8-Bell Music from Choraegus

The latest 8-bell arrangement from Choraegus is This Joyful Eastertide. This carol was written by George Ratcliffe Woodward, and published in 1894 in Carols for Easter and Ascensiontide. The melody is a Dutch tune from 1624.

We recorded our demonstration video in early 2020, and decided it wasn’t everything we’d hoped for. We made some vague plans to re-record the arrangement… and promptly forgot about it. An entire year has gone by, and someone recently asked us if we had an 8-bell arrangement of this hymn… so we decided it was time to make the piece available. We never did manage to make a new video, though!

This arrangement has no bell-sharing, no picking-up of accidentals during the piece, and no need for tables. We demonstrate it as a 4-in-hand duet, but there are no special techniques written into the score, so it could also be suitable for a trio or quartet to play.

How to purchase the sheet music

If you’d like to play This Joyful Eastertide, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. Purchasing this arrangement gives you permission to print up to four copies for your handbell group – so you only need to pay once. Purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials.

Please also note that our music is designed as downloadable PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll do what we can to help!

This Joyful Eastertide - handbells

6-Bell Easter Music – Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise

It’s time for some 6-bell Easter music! Here’s our new arrangement of Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise, for handbells with piano accompaniment.

It’s been a while since we played any 6-bell music. In recent weeks, we’ve been busy introducing some new 12- and 16-bell music, and putting together a video of our 3-octave arrangement of All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine. It was fun to dust off Larry’s “performance sling” for this new 6-bell piece!

This arrangement works well as a duet, but a trio could also play it, with social distancing as required. There are no techniques that need tables or foam, and no bell-sharing between ringers. If you’d like to play Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise, the sheet music is available to purchase, download and print from Choraegus. We also have an mp3 piano accompaniment track available to purchase separately; useful if you don’t have a willing accompanist, or want to rehearse at home.

More information about our music

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing the 6-bell arrangement of Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise allows you to print and maintain up to three copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Your purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites, church websites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details, and please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

You might like to look at our step-by-step guide to buying music from Choraegus, especially if you’re new to purchasing music online. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If you don’t find the answers you need, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to help!

Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise - Easter handbells

Lift High the Cross (CRUCIFER) – for Handbells and Piano

Lift High the Cross is a 19th century English hymn. The tune used here is CRUCIFER, written in 1916 by Sydney H. Nicholson. It’s a popular hymn for Holy Week and Easter, and our new 8-bell arrangement is straightforward and fun to play.

People sometimes ask us how they can use 8-bell music when they have more than 4 ringers in their handbell choir. We suggest that if handchimes are available, the piece could be doubled on bells and chimes! We decided to demonstrate this in our latest video:

Played like this, doubled on handbells and handchimes, up to 8 ringers could be kept busy with just 2 bells or chimes each. Of course, if you only have 2-4 ringers, you won’t need to double anything, and the piece can just be played in the usual way. But this was a fun experiment!

How to get the sheet music:

If you’d like to play Lift High the Cross, the sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. We also have an mp3 piano accompaniment track, available to purchase separately if you don’t have a willing accompanist. It’s also useful if you want to rehearse at home.

The all-important “small print”

Please note that our music is designed to be downloaded as PDFs. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing an 8-bell arrangement allows you to print and maintain up to four copies for your handbell group (plus the accompaniment score). Purchase also gives permission for recording, broadcasting, live-streaming and sharing on video-sharing sites and social media. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the title and arranger of the piece on video-sharing sites and social media, and in any printed materials such as church service bulletins.

If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll do what we can to help!

Lift High the Cross 8-bell